Operating system virtualization is a technology which can divide a single host (e.g., computer, server, etc.), into multiple parts, or partitions, each running a separate instance, or image, of an operating system. The instances of the operating systems are separate, or isolated, from each other in some ways. For example, the instances of the operating systems have separate file systems, separate users, separate applications, and separate processes. However, the instances of the operating systems may also share some resources of the host. For example, the instances of the operating systems can share the memory, the kernel, the processors, the hard drives, and/or other software, firmware, and/or hardware of the host. Thus, each instance of the operating system can look and feel like a separate server or machine from the perspective of its users. These instances of the operating system are commonly referred to as “virtual” or “virtualized” operating systems.
A software workload partition (WPAR) provides isolation of software services, applications, and administration utilizing software-defined boundaries within an instance of an operating system. For example, a WPAR is a software implementation of operating system virtualization. More specifically, a WPAR is a software partition that is created from, runs under, and shares the resources of a managing instance of a base operations system. Typically, the WPARs and the managing instance share an identical operating system (e.g., identical version, etc.). However, in some instances, a WPAR may be associated with a legacy operating system (i.e., an earlier version of the base operating system).